Lights
by antilogicgirl
Summary: Relationships fall apart sometimes. Kaylee knew that. What she never counted on was who would be there to pick up the pieces. Eventual JayneKaylee w hints of RiverMal.
1. Dim Lights

**Title:**"Lights"

**Begun:** December 1, 2007

**Completed: **December 4, 2007

**Summary: **Relationships fall apart sometimes. Kaylee knew that. What she never counted on was who would be there to pick up the pieces.

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**A/N:** Hi, all. This is my first story in this fandom, though I've loved the show for some time. It's an early Christmas present for a friend, who is a nearly shameless Jayne/Kaylee fan. So yes, the eventual pair will be those two. Just keep your shirts on for that. It takes a while, since Jayne's a bit thick in the head and Kaylee's stuck on our resident doctor.

* * *

**Legal Stuff:** I do not own Firefly or any of the characters therein. Joss Whedon, creator. OC mentioned (Dara) is mine for future use.

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**Chapter 1:** Dim Lights

Kaylee rubbed at her forehead as she leaned against the wall, hovering halfway between wanting to collapse into the hammock and slipping down the side of the port side hull. This whole thing was giving her a headache. She looked at the pile of parts on the floor for what had to be the fifteenth time in the last twenty minutes. Instead of caving in and giving up, she stubbornly shoved up the sleeves of her grease-stained coveralls and got down to work. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath, as she yanked the broken gasket off of the compression coil and plopped her butt right down on the floor.

The intercom static made a fuzzy-like noise, and Malcolm Reynolds's highly irritated voice said, "Kaylee, are you done patching up that _gorram_ compression coil yet?!"

Eyes crossing and trying to roll at the same time, Kaylee pushed herself up from where she sat. Stomping over to the squawk box, she smashed the button down and said, "Keep your pants on, Captain. This ain't changin' a lightbulb, you know. Gimme about another twenty minutes." Glancing over her shoulder at the mess on the floor, she reconsidered before correcting herself. "Make it thirty, actually."

The instant she let go of that button, Mal growled through the crackling speaker, "Kaylee Fry, you get the engine on line in ten minutes or so help me—" Her jaw clenched hard, and Kaylee flipped the toggle for the volume all the way down.

"As if," she grumped, taking the three steps back to her pile of compression coil. "You wouldn't do me a damned thing." She picked up the titanium housing tube, and a brush, starting to scrape out the burnt grease that had got caked up inside. Mal wouldn't. Hell, Kaylee figured he _couldn't_ do anything to her. There weren't many people nowadays what knew how to fix up a Firefly engine. And on Persephone, she was pretty sure that no one else did. So, she just went on with her work, not even trying to hurry.

It wasn't like they had to leave in a hurry because somebody was chasing them right now. Well, at least as far as Kaylee knew, they didn't…but this was a matter of principle. The compression coil had busted three times in the past six months, and to be honest, they'd had some decent jobs lately, so Kaylee saw no reason that they couldn't just get a _new_ one. When Serenity almost ate dirt coming into the Eastdown Docks yesterday, she had given the Captain her patented _I-told-you-so_ look once she got up off of the floor, but all she got was a handful of new gaskets and some more sealant to repair the old compression coil.

The grate outside started rumbling, and she just _knew_ that Mal was coming to yell at her. Kaylee simply ignored it. _Deep breaths, girl. Just breathe. One of these days, though. _One day, she was just going to up and tell him exactly what was on her mind, and be done with it. But right now, she had a heap of work to do. "Heap of crap is what it is…" The rumbling turned into distinct footsteps, but it didn't sound like the Captain. Mal walked sort of slow when he was mad, almost like he had a limp. Those footsteps were heavy, lumbering, but fast. Jayne?

Kaylee sighed and started scrubbing again. That grease was really stuck on there. She had no idea what could bring Jayne into the engine room, unless he got a wild hair to come and bother the hell out of her. Which he did on a regular basis. It did seem at times that Jayne Cobb's mission in life was to torture everyone on Serenity with his stupidity. But since about a year ago, it looked more and more like he preferred annoying Kaylee more than he did even the Captain. Of course, it didn't help that he'd been a lot more perceptive than usual when he'd noticed how much she liked Simon.

The footsteps stopped, and she heard a heavy boot kick the bottom of the hatch. Silence followed for a moment while she ignored him, finally getting through the last layer of black scum at the bottom of the cylinder so that she could get at the inner gasket. Then she heard Jayne sniffle. Dropping the wire brush, Kaylee picked up a can of pressurized air to blow the debris from the tube. "What do you want, Jayne?"

She reached for a screwdriver to pry the melted rubber from the ceramic end cap, but a large, and somewhat sweaty hand got there first. "Captain seems a might bit antsy," he said, straightening up and flipping the screwdriver over in his hands. Kaylee snorted. Antsy wasn't the word for what Mal was at the moment. "I heard him yellin' at ya, Kaylee." Craning her neck until it hurt, she looked up at Jayne's face. He was smirking like usual when he asked, "What the hell got his panties in a wad?" It didn't really look like he was interested, and since she was pretty sure he had heard everything anyway, Kaylee took back her screwdriver and jammed it underneath the rubber, starting to chip it away.

"Go away, Jayne."

"Nope." From the corner of her eye, she could see Jayne move over to where the hammock was. "Engine room's the only place I can't hear Mal's belly-achin'." The ropes holding the striped blanket fabric up gave a creak when he sank into it, and Kaylee settled in to ignore him again. She'd just slapped a freshly coated gasket onto the end cap, and was tapping it into place when she heard Jayne start drumming his fingers on the starboard side of the hull.

"Are you gonna stop that any time soon?" The drumming didn't stop, but started getting faster. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Kaylee asked as she turned her head to look at the moronic sack of—

"I dunno. Maybe I should ask _you_ the same thing." He was fiddling with the little alarm clock she'd taped to the hull for the times when she ended up so tired Kaylee couldn't even haul herself back to her bunk. About to ask what the hell he meant, she was cut off by yet another idiotic comment. "You been all pissy like this since that fight you and the good doctor had in the galley. Missin' your pelvic exams, Kaylee?" She could feel herself turning red. And not from embarrassment. Ignoring him wasn't working, and it was pointless talking to him about the problems she and Simon had been having. He had said once that he never even kissed a woman on the mouth. That, Kaylee figured, would make it too personal. Jayne didn't know a damned thing about relationships if he couldn't make himself kiss a girl, so she wasn't going to make her life any worse by trying to explain things. It wasn't like he would have any usable advice.

"What do you care, Jayne? I saw you _laughing_ when Simon left the galley, so I know you think it's funny!" As a matter of fact, Jayne had fallen out of his chair and Kaylee had to slap him full across the face to get him to start breathing again. "And it _ain't_ funny." She looked away, taking the coil and fixing it to the groove at the base of the end cap. The second gasket slipped from her fingers when she tried to stretch it across the sealer, and she watched it sail across the room, landing under the hammock. "Damn it Jayne, just leave me alone…" Kaylee dropped the entire compression coil assembly, and scrabbled forward to retrieve the gasket, trying not to let him see how frustrated she was. The truth was that she was damn close to crying.

Again, Jayne got to the part first. He picked it up, leaning forward and getting right in Kaylee's face. His eyes showed a look of seriousness, which was highly unusual. "You know, that sissy-boy's trouble."

Kaylee froze where she was, partway to reaching for the gasket. "What are you talking—"

Jayne grabbed her hand, shoving the rubber disk into it. "He made you cry, didn't he?" Her mouth fell open, but no noise came out. She wanted to ask him how he knew. How? But she couldn't. No words came. None. Jayne grunted, "Real man don't make a woman cry." He stood up, side-stepping Kaylee and leaving the engine room.

* * *

Simon Tam was a very, very tired man. It had been a week since he'd slept well. Seven days earlier, he had fled the galley, leaving Kaylee standing there staring after him while River just watched and Jayne roared in laughter. He hadn't meant to hurt her. Simon never meant to hurt anybody. With the possible exception of Jayne. But that was merely in self-defense. There were few things that made him angrier than the way he was treated by that overgrown shaven ape.

But his dislike for Jayne Cobb was secondary at the moment. Right now, he was more concerned with the fact that he couldn't seem to do anything to make Kaylee forgive him.

* * *

"Mal, all I'm saying is that you should give her a break." Inara said quietly. She leaned against the footlocker behind the pilot's chair while the Captain checked a few connections under the helm the helm. "She's about to have a nervous breakdown." He made a noncommittal sound, and then cursed, sparks falling from beneath the console. Inara ignored his coarse language, trying to think of a solution to Kaylee's problem. This wasn't the first time she had worried for her younger friend. The relationship Kaylee had with Simon was fraught with problems.

When the doctor wasn't offending Kaylee with some unintentionally callous comment, he was very sweet, but Inara was beginning to wonder if they really cared enough about one another. Surely, there was a great deal of physical attraction between them, and always had been. But that, she knew, was not everything. They were two very different people. There was only so far that they could get just from great sex.

"I'll give her a break," Mal replied, sticking his head out from where it was, "when she's done fixing that compression coil."

Inara sighed, wanting to throw her hands up in exasperation. There was little hope for Malcolm Reynolds. Instead of showing her frustration, she took a deep breath. "Please do. She works harder than anyone else on the ship, Mal. And what with all of the problems she's been having with Simon…" Mal slapped his hand on the floor several times; a sign that he did not want to talk about the current subject. It did not surprise her at all. He never wanted to talk about anything that did not involve the operation of the ship, and his supreme authority over it. Everything seemed like a power struggle with him, whether it be dealing with Jayne or barging into the shuttle at any hour of day or night he pleased.

Now, she thought, would be the perfect time to display her irritation, but the effects would be somewhat lessened, since he would not be able to see her. That being the case, she just left the room.

* * *

The galley was dim, as it usually was when most of the crew was on down-time and they tried to save energy. Bluish light from the corridor came in through the door, and it cast long, creepy shadows across the floor. Jayne didn't really care. He could deal with shadows. The light also gleamed off of the three pistols he'd broken down to clean. Something he'd always done when he couldn't sleep—or when he needed help being able to think—stripping his guns, cleaning and oiling them, as well as reassembling each one, was something he could do in absolute darkness.

He remembered earlier, when he'd gone and said _that_ to Kaylee. Maybe he really shouldn't have. The kid was having some pretty big issues with that pansy-ass doctor, and even if he hated him, Jayne didn't want to go and make Kaylee more miserable than she already was. At least, he didn't do it intentionally. Sure, he liked to yank her chain pretty often, but she knew he was joking, right?

What he'd said to her before, about the doctor being trouble was something serious, though. It was no joke. He found it funny that Simon wasn't man enough to keep Kaylee happy, yeah. Far as he was concerned, the little prick had a few things coming to him, and he would love to be the one to deliver. What he _didn't_ like was walking past the mechanic's bunk and hearing her sobbing after the galley fight. One of the reasons he usually couldn't stand Kaylee was because she was so _gorram_ cheerful. But since a few weeks ago, she wasn't so happy anymore.

He could remember a time when she didn't bite his head off for making a joke, or just coming to hang out in the engine room. After all, it was better the devil you knew than the one you didn't, and Kaylee was pretty good at throwing tools. He'd had to get the doctor to sew him a few stitches the first time a spanner came flying at his head. Of course, she apologized a bunch for that one, but it didn't mean she got any nicer overall.

So here he was, polishing his guns and trying to figure out a way to get Kaylee to stop being pissy, and nothing was coming to him. It was strictly for the general well-being of the crew, so to speak, since it wasn't just Jayne that the girl got nasty with. Mal had been the target of her aggravation more than a few times, and that always ended up with Inara yelling at the Captain after he'd said something to make Kaylee so mad she needed to break something. Nothing was making it easy for him, though.

Simon kept making Kaylee cry, and Jayne's daddy had always told him, _son, you ever make a woman cry, you ain't no kind of man._ And as that went with the current situation, Jayne figured that it was true. Because really, Simon wasn't no kind of man to start with, and the fact that he'd made Kaylee cry just made it worse. No solutions presented themselves, as he couldn't think of any way to get things back to the way they used to be. Well, short of getting rid of the doctor…But he was pretty sure if he let Vera get acquainted with Simon like he really wanted to, Kaylee would be more than pissy. And she'd probably cry. "I hate it when she cries."

"When Kaylee does?" asked the last voice he wanted to hear at the moment. River Tam's slender form detached from the shadows of the kitchen, tilting her head to one side in that creepy way she had. She plopped down into a chair opposite him, leaning her chin on her hand and looking at his guns for a second before turning her eyes toward him again. "Simon made Kaylee cry."

"Yeah, I know." He picked up the barrel assembly, rubbing at it with a rag and trying to keep the rest of his thoughts to himself.

"You don't like Simon." River said, her voice not really showing whether she cared or not. Jayne just shook his head. No, he did not. "But he likes Kaylee."

Jayne let out a long breath, setting down the barrel of his Desert Eagle. River looked like she always did; her eyes unreadable, and nothing else giving away a damned thing about what was going on in that schizo-freaky head of hers. "Look girlie. I couldn't care if your pencil-dick of a brother likes her or not. He made her cry. Kaylee ain't supposed to cry." For a long couple of seconds, they just kind of stared each other down, but after that, Jayne looked away. Damn her creepy-ass eyes, but he looked away first.

"You like her too."

"Do not." He shot back, but didn't look at her.

"Do too." She was starting to sound like she thought this was funny, like it was one big joke. Well, maybe to someone who could kill him with her brain, it was a bit ticklish, but he didn't find it one smidge amusing.

So, he glared right back at River, who was smiling like that cat who got the canary, and growled, "I sure as shit _don't_ like her." She just grinned back at him in that sort of dreamy way she had, and shook her head as if to tell him that there was no denying it to someone that could read his mind. He wasn't sure that he wouldn't start developing a twitch under his eye at any moment. Finally, he gave it up. "Ah, hell, what does it matter if I like that damned woman or not?" She was too stuck on that goody-two-shoes panty-waist doctor to pay attention to anything else.

"Thirsty?" River asked suddenly, standing up and going back to the kitchen, where she flipped on a light. Jayne grunted something about going back to his bunk after he got finished with his guns. A few minutes later, when he was struggling with the firing pin of his Colt—out of pure frustration with being in the same room with River, mind you—he found a mug of tea plunked down in front of him.

"I don't need no _gorram_ tea, psycho."

She just dumped a spoon full of sugar into the cup, leaving the spoon in and nodding at the tea. "She might need it." Jayne made a noise that sounded like a frog giving its last croak, and River laughed. "Take it." The firing pin fell out of his hand, fingers drifting toward the mug before he could think.

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**A/N:** Stay tuned for the next installment, "Tea Lights", in which Zoe is motherly, Jayne is sweet, and Kaylee is confused. 


	2. Tea Lights

**Title:**"Lights"

**Begun:** December 1, 2007

**Completed: **December 4, 2007

**Summary: **Relationships fall apart sometimes. Kaylee knew that. What she never counted on was who would be there to pick up the pieces.

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**A/N:** Thanks everyone...all of you that have commented, or given favorites and alerts. Now we get to see what happens when Jayne brings Kaylee her tea. I like this chapter, mainly because of Jayne. Keep up your comments, if you can, even if they're not logged in!

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**Legal Stuff:** I do not own Firefly or any of the characters therein. Joss Whedon, creator. OC mentioned (Dara) is mine for future use.

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**Chapter 2:** Tea Lights 

Zoe passed another tissue to Kaylee, who was crying, yet again. "You know," she said quietly, "this is the third time in two months you've come crying to me about Simon." Kaylee's red-rimmed eyes opened, puffy, and confused. "I know you don't want to hear it, Kaylee…"

Sniffling, the girl shook her head. "No, Zoe. Don't say…please don't. Do you have any idea how _long_ I waited for him?" Zoe chuckled slightly. Yes, she knew exactly how long Kaylee had pined for their resident trauma surgeon. But, she explained, that didn't make him worth crying over. No man could make you feel bad about yourself unless you let him. After blowing her nose in a very fog-horn-like fashion, Kaylee answered that. "I know. But I just…what am I gonna do, Zoe? I honestly don't know what happened. We were fine. Really. But lately I just…" And then she collapsed into a fit of tears once again.

It was the acceptance that was the hardest part. That was something she knew from experience. While her particular experience was very different from Kaylee's, it boiled down to essentially the same thing. When something was slipping away—or was ripped out of your hands the way Wash had been—you go through a pretty distinct pattern of emotional phases.

First, you just can't believe it. There is no way that it can be happening to _you_. Then, you get angry. When you're in that stage, people had best steer clear of you, because as Jayne found out with Kaylee, you lash out at anyone or anything within reach. Once you're done being angry, you're pretty resigned to what has already happened, and some people even get apathetic, or just cry until they make themselves ill. And then, you accept it, and you eventually move on.

Zoe? She was pretty well stuck on the anger stage, and she figured it might stay that way for a good long while. But Kaylee was going through those stages so fast it was making everyone's heads spin. Inara had gone to the Captain, trying to get him to lay off of Kaylee, because she was fast approaching the crying stage, but was still somewhat stuck on angry. Zoe kept wondering if she was just going to crack and throw a spanner at Mal the way she did Jayne, but so far, her assaults on the ship's owner were strictly verbal.

As always, Inara's requests were largely ignored, and Kaylee continued with an overabundance of work, seeing as how Mal had asked her to re-wire most of the synchronizers that linked the drive engine with the starboard atmosphere thruster a few days back. They'd been on Persephone for only a day and a half, and already, Zoe was starting to think that maybe Inara really had something with that nervous breakdown theory. So far, Kaylee had been insubordinate with Mal five times, including this afternoon when she cut off the intercom to the engine room completely.

Not to mention the knock-down, drag-out fights she kept having with Simon, which ranged all over the ship. The last one, at least, Zoe had not been witness to, but when questioned, Simon would only say that he did not understand why Kaylee was so upset with him, and why she'd asked him to leave her alone. Smiling sadly, Zoe leaned back against the end of her bunk, and let Kaylee put her head into her lap. Stroking the girl's hair, she was suddenly struck by the similarities between the young mechanic and her own sister. "It'll be okay," she murmured as she started carding fingers through Kaylee's hair like she used to Dara's.

Kaylee's voice was muffled by the wad of snotty, tear-stained tissues she was still using to wipe at her nose when she said, "Thank you, Zoe…" It was times like this that she really missed Wash. They had some amazing fights, but somehow, they'd gotten through them all. And she still wished…wished that they hadn't waited on having children. All she had now were memories to remind her.

* * *

It was almost three in the morning when Kaylee woke up, a rough blanket pulled up over her shoulders, and her head still in Zoe's lap. The first mate was asleep as well, leaning against the hard metal wall. Kaylee always wondered how she managed to stay so sane, so calm, with all of the things she'd seen and been forced to do. And with her husband gone. In a way, she looked up to Zoe more than she did the Captain. Sure, Mal was the Captain, but Zoe was so much tougher, but somehow, she still managed to keep herself from becoming inhuman. 

But, as she sat up and gently lowered the first mate onto the bunk before covering her with the blanket, Kaylee was glad that there were moments when she could show how fragile she was. The older woman spent so much time taking care of everyone, protecting them, that no one ever realized just how badly she needed someone to do the same for her. And maybe that was why she had taken to Wash the way she did. While he had been silly, and downright strange at times—God rest his soul—Kaylee saw the way he could penetrate that thick skin of hers. "Sleep good, Zoe," she said as she pushed the release for the door lock.

It was hard to shut the door to Zoe's bunk without the hinge creaking, but somehow, she managed. She'd crossed the hall and kicked open the hatch to her own bunk when she heard the grate start rumbling. Who else was up at this time of night? Kaylee shook her head, starting the descent into her quarters. When she only had her head above the floor grating, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, coming from the aft of the ship. Turning her head to the right, she saw a strange thing.

Jayne was walking slowly down the corridor, a mug held carefully in his big hands, while he obviously tried hard not to spill what was in it. Kaylee couldn't help but smile at that. In a lot of ways, Jayne acted like a little boy. His eyes rose from the contents of his cup to see her watching him, and he suddenly looked flustered. "Uh…hey, Kaylee."

"Hi, Jayne," she replied, watching him shift from one foot to the other for a moment, looking very uncomfortable. "'Night, Jayne." She started to go down the ladder again, but stopped when he called out to her.

"Kaylee," Jayne called, sounding even more awkward than before. He took the last few steps over to where she was, and crouched down, holding out the mug, which smelled of chamomile and lemon. "Here." Confused, she reached out to take the cup. It was warm, and just the smell was enough to calm her nerves a bit. She thanked him, but he scratched his head and made a dismissive wave with his hand, seeming much more like the Jayne she knew when he said, "It weren't me, really…River made it."

"Thanks all the same, though," Kaylee said, trying to balance hanging on her ladder and holding the cup at the same time. It was starting to feel kind of awkward there, and she wasn't sure it was just the position she was in. "Well…I gotta get to bed…"

Jayne stood up, suddenly, and gave a little cough, clearing his throat. "Yeah. I, uh, gotta go get my guns. Left 'em in the galley." He stayed where he was for only a second longer, fidgeting with one of the string lights that framed the entrance to Kaylee's room, then turned on his heel and stiffly walked back in the direction of the galley. Wait. Jayne left his _guns_ in the galley? Didn't he say that River was in there?

Jayne never left any weapons where River could get to them. They all knew what she could do, given the correct motivation and firepower. And another thing…River made the tea, and gave it to Jayne for him to bring it to her. Why not just take it herself? The other girl's mind worked in strange ways, that was sure, but really, she wasn't sure what all this was about. Thinking about it was making her head hurt, and hanging on the ladder was making her arm hurt, so she carefully climbed down into her bunk. It was way too late in the day to be opening that big of a can of worms.

* * *

Jayne re-entered the galley, finding River gone, and his guns completely reassembled for him. That was slightly off-putting, and his eyes automatically glanced at the knife caddy on the kitchen counter. All cutlery accounted for, he breathed a sigh of relief. The way he figured it, she was at least slightly less psychotic than she had been. He wasn't dead, so that was something. 

And Kaylee looked better, which was something else altogether. She must have been talking to Zoe again. It seemed like every time her boyfriend made her cry, she ended up in Zoe's bunk. Probably hoping for some womanly advice, and a shoulder to cry on. Far as Jayne could figure it, Zoe was the last person to be able to give that kind of advice. He hadn't been able to check her for parts, but he was sure that she was at least half man. Broad had more balls than most men he knew, including Simon Tam.

Gathering up his guns, he sucked a tooth. Maybe he should have a little talk with the doctor, after all. Vera didn't have to be in on that chat. He figured he could use his intimidating demeanor to convince Simon that his attitude toward the mechanic better change fast. Because in spite of the fact that the man wasn't exactly a baby, the pretty-boy wouldn't be able to keep from pissing his pants if Jayne really decided he needed threatening.

* * *

Simon sat up, yawning. His hand moved to turn off the alarm clock, but he found another one doing it for him. It was a very large hand. "Mornin', doc." Simon had only a split second to wonder why Jayne Cobb was in his room before he had his head bounced none too gently off of the wall. "Sorry for my…uncivilized behavior, doc. But I just wanted to get you a little message." 

Simon's head was still reeling from nearly having his skull cracked on three-centimeter-thick steel plating. He wasn't sure he heard that right. "Excuse me?"

The hand that had been gripping the front of his pajamas let go suddenly, and he slipped back into his bed. Jayne grabbed the lone chair in the room and dragged it over to the edge of Simon's bed. Once he'd seated himself—in a most uncivilized position—he fixed the young doctor with a glare that might have melted glass, if given the opportunity. "Listen up, doc, 'cause I'm only gonna say it once." Nodding, Simon indicated that Jayne should continue with what was probably going to be an inane threat of some kind. "You better be a man and step up. I don't want you makin' Kaylee cry no more. Got me?"

Blinking rapidly, and trying to process what had just been demanded of him, he was in the end still at a loss for words. "I'm not sure I understand."

Laughing in a very unpleasant way, Jayne produced a large knife and used it to scratch an itch on the side of his face. "It's pretty simple, Simon. Either you be a man and keep her happy, or I'll introduce you to Vera."

"Who's Vera?" He asked, even more confused than he had been. And that was completely disregarding the fact that Jayne was interfering in his and Kaylee's obviously failing relationship.

"Oh…Vera's a very touchy lady. Got an explosive temper, if you get my drift." And suddenly, it all made sense. Jayne named his guns, and Simon vaguely recalled an oversized assault rifle that had been dubbed 'Vera' at some point. After he indicated that he understood the man perfectly, Jayne smiled, seeming genuinely happy…which was odd in and of itself. "Now you should get up and have some breakfast, doc. Most important meal of the day, as I comprehend."

When the hulking man had exited the room, politely sliding the door shut behind himself, Simon collapsed into bed again. This was going to be a very, very bad day. He could just tell.

**A/N:** Hehe. I hope you enjoyed it. I sure did. Don't miss the next installment, "Soul Lights", when River thinks about various things, Mal becomes a puzzle for her to solve, and Zoe teases Jayne, who is starting to realize what's _really_ going on. Ah, yes. And we get to see what makes Jayne Cobb blush.


	3. Soul Lights

**Title:**"Lights"

**Begun:** December 1, 2007

**Completed: **December 4, 2007

**Summary: **Relationships fall apart sometimes. Kaylee knew that. What she never counted on was who would be there to pick up the pieces.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay...so here's the third chapter. River's one of my favorite characters, so she gets to flex her philosophical muscles. And she also gets to have a nice talk with Mal. Really, I'm surprised I got so much into such a small chapter. Ah, hell. Why don't you just read it and find out what's going on? It makes it more fun when there's a surprise!

**Legal Stuff:** I do not own Firefly or any of the characters therein. Joss Whedon, creator. OC mentioned (Dara) is mine for future use.

* * *

**Chapter 3:** Soul Lights

Sometimes, it just felt nice to sit here. The bridge had the nicest view, River thought. Even when they were holding steady on course, and everything was perfectly in order, she would curl up in the sheepskin-covered chair, and watch them go by. Planets, moons, stars…twinkling lights like a Christmas Tree. And they just floated there, drifting infinitely through that endless black void, like apples bobbing in a deep barrel and waiting to be plucked up. Or maybe it was less like that, and more along the lines of people on a journey. They crossed paths, entered and exited each other's orbits, and at times clashed. Yes, River thought, that was a much more apt analogy.

Especially since people seemed to also be in their own little worlds a lot of the time. Not that she could point fingers at anyone without doing the same to herself…she was aware that her mind retreated in on itself. And one day, they would find a way to bring it back permanently. But for now, she sat. Her world was the universe, endless black and filled with twinkling lights and shining people. A small smile tugged at her mouth at that thought.

Everyone had their own light, shining at various levels of brightness, straight out of their souls. Simon, for instance, had a soft, bluish light. That worried her at times, because Kaylee had such a bright, sunny-yellow light that his was overshadowed. She had started noticing the way Kaylee seemed to drift off, away from Simon. And it was sad, because her brother only really shone when he was with Kaylee.

"Twinkle, twinkle," came a voice from behind her, and River turned around to find the Captain looking quite smug at having snuck up on her. Incidentally, Malcolm Reynolds had a wavering, flaring light somewhere between pale blue and white. River always thought it looked nice with his eyes, and the way his temper flared. At the moment, it was pretty, because it was calm. He was asking her something. "Can't sleep?"

She shook her head. "I was just watching." The lights tonight were different…they were in port. Stars were dimmed, but the smaller lights from the people and the buildings were almost as nice. Even though it was an hour before dawn, there were already people bustling around the Eastdown Docks.

"We still haven't found any work just yet," Mal said idly, his fingers starting to scratch at the sheepskin of River's chair. "I was going to go and see Badger." River cocked her head to one side. She wasn't sure how much she liked Badger. He was a strange little man, who was far too full of himself. And Mal was thinking that she might be useful, wasn't he?

A smile began spreading over River's face and she hopped up onto her knees, turning to face the Captain. He blinked and looked a bit confused. She laughed a little, and said, "Do you need me to deal with him?" It would be fun, she thought. He was pretty gullible the last time she saw him, so it might be easy enough to fool him again.

"No, no. But I had talked to Zoe. She said that he…well, he seemed to take a shine to you. If you were there, then he might see clear to give us a bit more business, with a better cargo than he normally would." Again, River smiled, she nodded, and poked Mal's nose, only causing him to look even more confused than before. Now, his light was flickering again. He was a little flustered.

River looked at him for a very long moment. She could read things, tell his mood, and see certain of his thoughts, but the rest was clouded over. He was a puzzle. Even as a very small child, River had always loved puzzles.

Plopping back down in the chair, she pulled her knees up to her chest. "Want to watch the lights with me?"

"That's all right, little 'un. I'm gonna go and see about some things. We'll be going to see Badger at around noon." The man's footsteps echoed through the corridor until they died away completely. River leaned back in the chair, watching the lights as people went by, and slowly drifting in her own little world.

* * *

Breakfast had gone over without a hitch, with Simon being very polite and not saying anything to upset Kaylee. Jayne was sitting in the corner with a steaming hot cup of strong oolong tea—two sugars, no cream—when the two left the room together. Kaylee was even smiling, which did Jayne all kinds of good. Simon had been glancing at him every now and again, but as there was nothing to complain about, the large man had merely given a jerky nod to the doctor, a sign of his approval.

He turned back to the letter he was writing to his mother, but soon found his mind wandering. Jayne had already put down everything he could, telling her that he would be sending more credits and hopefully a present for Mattie's birthday. He'd also told her about the general happenings around the ship, leaving out any details about where they were, and who they dealt with…something the Captain had told him to do. Just in case the Alliance got a wild hair and decided to send a large number of people out to look for them, they might go nosing around their families.

His mind drifted away from all that, though. Jayne found himself thinking about things that he had never dared to. For one, why would River help him out? There was bad blood between Jayne and the Tams, so what could she possibly have to gain? Was she trying to make a monkey out of him? That might be. But then there was the way her eyes had looked when she stated the obvious fact that Simon had made Kaylee cry. She looked…she looked almost like she didn't approve. But that couldn't be. He was her brother, and any idiot could see that the poor fool was completely stupid over Kaylee anyway, so it must be even more obvious to River.

Jayne had congratulated himself with a big pat on the back when he saw how well Simon and Kaylee had been getting on. He'd done what he set out to. But now, he wasn't quite sure that what he'd done had really done right by _him_. Hell, where did that leave him? The ass-end of nowhere, pretty much. That didn't sit well with him, but at least Kaylee was happy.

His thoughts, such as they were, soon were interrupted when Zoe came over, settling herself into one of the chairs in the lounge. A bowl of instant oatmeal and a mug of what looked like hot chocolate got set down on the little table, and she looked curiously at Jayne as she used a spoon to stir the mushy stuff. "I hear tell of you being gentlemanly, Jayne." The spoon went into her mouth, and came out clean. Around a mouth full of oatmeal, she commented, "That's pretty out of character, for you."

"Ah, lay off, will ya?" Jayne grumped, folding up his letter and stuffing it into the envelope.

"Jayne…" Zoe's voice had taken on a threatening tone. That woman was fishing. Well, let her. He wasn't gonna say anything. She scooted closer on the couch before she said in a low, secretive voice, "Kaylee said you brought her tea," and in an even lower tone, "and Simon looked pretty rattled earlier when I saw him in the hall." So what if he'd put the fear of God into that little…ah, hell, Jayne was running out of names for him. "Well?" she asked, leaning on one elbow and looking at him as if she really expected an answer.

"I _said_ lay off, Zoe." Jayne was staring at his teacup now, and wondering when he had drunk what had been inside. He could still feel her looking at him, like she was trying to pry the answers out of him just by staring. "So what if I did?" He asked in a smallish voice.

Zoe, who had been tapping her foot, suddenly stopped. A short silence was broken only when she let out a breath, and then asked, "And I guess you threatened the doctor?" He gave a short nod. "You didn't need to." What did she mean, he didn't need to? Simon didn't know how to keep his damned mouth shut. How was he supposed to keep Kaylee happy if he was gonna make her cry every time he flapped his gums? That was the only reason Jayne had gone and done what he did. He just wanted…he just wanted Kaylee to be happy.

He wasn't going to tell Zoe that, though. He wasn't going to tell her anything.

"Jayne," Zoe seemed serious now, and he looked up to see that she actually was. "You can't force what ain't there."

After a few seconds, that sunk in, but he wasn't sure he understood. "What are you talkin' about, Zoe?" She just smiled and got up, walking away from the lounge and sitting at the big table. He guessed that was going to be something he had to figure for himself. Shrugging, he stood and stuffed his letter into his back pocket, walking over to the kitchen and washing out his cup before putting it away. There were some things that needed doing, and he better get to it, since they were going to be going see that chicken-shit Badger.

* * *

Kaylee leaned back in the engine room hammock. She felt…strangely peaceful. The Captain, Zoe and River had gone to see that awful man Badger, and Simon had decided to make a trip into the city for medical supplies. God only knew where Jayne was since the Captain had decided not to take him along, and Inara had a full client list while they were in port. So, she was left to herself for the time being. The ship was buttoned up, and it was times like this that she felt closest to Serenity. The fingers of her left hand grazed the metal of the hull for a moment. Well, at least _she_ was still there. No matter what happened, Kaylee still had Serenity.

It was strange, she thought, how the big decisions seem to come so easily in the moment. They'd all been in the galley, eating some pretty tasteless oatmeal, when Simon asked her to go with him. She saw him look over at Jayne, who gave him a little nod, and a very serious glance. Simon had, when they got to the infirmary, apologized for what he had said when they fought. He'd said he did not like to see her upset, and asked what he could do to keep it from happening again.

And in that moment, it had been so easy to say, _"Be my friend again,"_ and it had really surprised her that she actually meant it. Yes, it did hurt to let those words out, but they needed to be said. She still did not understand why, but Simon simply…didn't fit. Sure, he was sweet and all. And he'd come out of his shell a bunch, but there was still a lot that she did not get about him, no matter how hard she tried.

He'd been very understanding, and said he would do his very best. If she ever needed to talk, he'd said, she should come to him, and he'd listen. Of course, she could tell that he was disappointed. But she did feel like he'd get over it sooner or later. For now, Kaylee was only sure of one thing, really. She knew that she couldn't be with Simon any longer. Not if she wanted to stay sane. Now her only problem was that in the middle of all that quiet, all that peace, there was just her, and that made her a little sad.

* * *

It had to be about two in the afternoon, and Jayne was bored. He'd already done several sets on his weights, and his guns didn't need polishing. So what was there to do? Far as he knew, everybody else was gone, so he couldn't go pestering anybody. Not that he'd ever admit that he pestered people…

And that's why Jayne ended up just walking around the ship. He wandered around in the galley, and made himself a cup of tea. He paced the hallways and stairs for a while, finally finding himself at the door to the engine room. Surprised to find that Kaylee was still on board, he peeked around the corner to see her sleeping in the striped hammock. Jayne watched how she breathed, sort of shallow-like, and how her hair had fallen over her face like that…Kaylee sure looked pretty when she was asleep.

Of course, he wanted to smack himself for even thinking about that. Earlier, he'd agreed with all corners of his brain that he would just not think about any of it. Fat lot of good it was doing him right now, though. He meant to high-tail it out of there, but then she made this little noise in her sleep, and he knew he wasn't going anywhere.

So he stepped in through the hatch and settled down on the floor next to the hammock. He couldn't see her now, but it was easy to hear her breathing in the silence of the ship. It was a nice sound, and he listened to it while he sipped his tea. After a little while, Jayne pulled up his knees and really leaned against the wall, using one finger to pull at the hammock until it started swinging just a little.

* * *

Kaylee blinked, letting out a quiet yawn. She hadn't even remembered being sleepy, but one glance at the clock told her that it was three in the afternoon. She'd been out for that long? Hell, she might not even sleep tonight at this rate if she didn't get up now. The only hard part was the getting up. Sitting in a hammock was one thing, but laying in one, and getting out of it again was another. Gripping the sides of the cloth, Kaylee jerked hard while turning her legs to propel herself out of the hammock.

Usually, this worked pretty well, unless one of her legs was asleep. Or, if someone was sitting under the hammock. She caught her foot on something, which happened to be a leg, and tripped, falling without any idea of how she was going to land. Her first thought was something along the lines of _who'd be dumb enough to sit under a hammock?_ And then she didn't have to wonder about that, because she'd fallen directly onto them. Jayne looked pretty sheepish when he asked, "You okay?"

Kaylee, who was pretty uncomfortable in the oddly twisted position she was in, nodded and quickly straightened herself up. Now, she was sitting up straight, even if she was crossways of Jayne's lap. "What are you doing sitting down here, Jayne? Don't ya know I could fall on ya?"

He scratched at his head, and then said, "Nah. Never really crossed my mind." The way he was looking at her told her he wasn't lying. At least that. But why had he decided to come in here in the first place? "I thought you would have gone into town with the doc, really." That was a pretty random thing to say, Kaylee thought. She was about to ask about it, but Jayne kept talking. "Didn't really 'xpect to see ya in here." Jayne looked around, breathing kind of deeply until a little smile caught the edges of his mouth. "It's sorta…I dunno. It's kinda nice in here."

Kaylee held back a smile of her own, trying to keep it to herself. She had no idea what brought on such halfway philosophical thought, but she wasn't going to complain. Jayne hadn't said anything to bother her yet. "So you came in here just to sit?" She asked, a little teasing.

"I guess." His eyes were looking somewhere over Kaylee's shoulder now, at where the catalyzer would be. "You were sleepin' so good, I didn't wanna wake you up, so I just sat down right here." Jayne's hand started fidgeting, and for the first time, Kaylee noticed that it was on her knee. It appeared that he realized it too, because he pulled it away rather quickly, and that bashful look came over his face again. She wasn't sure why, but Kaylee got the sudden urge to hug him.

Maybe it was because he hadn't said anything to annoy her, or maybe it was that almost adorable look he got when he was getting embarrassed. Whatever it was, she wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed. He was like a big teddy bear, really. A big, stiff teddy bear. Why did he get all stiff? She'd hugged him before, and never had a problem with that. But her head was against his chest, and she could feel his heart beating faster…an idea started forming in the back of Kaylee's head, and she let go of him to took a good long look at Jayne's face.

_You've gotta be kiddin'_ _me…_she thought when she saw that his ears had started to turn pink. He was actually kind of cute like that, though. Kaylee couldn't help herself. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He jumped as if she'd given him a shock, and said, "What'd ya do that for?"

Kaylee couldn't help laughing a little at him as she said, "'Cause you were bein' sweet." And really, he was. His face started to turn pink, right along with his ears, and Kaylee laughed a little more. "And 'cause you blush like that…it's cute."

In what seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction, Jayne blurted, "I ain't cute."

A snort got out before she could stop it, and Jayne gave her a hard look. Trying to keep the upper hand, Kaylee asked, "Well, if you ain't cute when you're blushin' like you are, then what would you call it?"

His nose scrunched up, and his voice came out sounding sulky. "Ruggedly handsome."

Kaylee burst out laughing, unable to control herself. "That's a good one! 'Ruggedly handsome'…" and her laughing continued, completely uncontainable and after a minute, it was starting to hurt.

She would have fallen off of Jayne's lap if he hadn't caught her. He was starting to really sulk now. "Jesus, Kaylee…It ain't that funny…" The more downtrodden he looked, the harder she laughed, until she really couldn't breathe any more.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything…" came a voice from the doorway, and Kaylee suddenly stopped laughing. She looked over Jayne's shoulder, and found Zoe, who looked as if she were about to start laughing, too. Now, Kaylee started feeling her face heating up, and she stood up and coughed a little.

"What's up, Zoe?" she did feel kind of lame just then, and for a second, she wondered why.

Jayne stood up, and not for the first time, she was reminded of just how short she was. Jayne was a good two feet taller than she was, and if she were to look up at him just now, she might get a crick in her neck. He picked up his cup, and slipped past the first mate, not bothering to say anything to her, or to Kaylee. Zoe took a quick look over her shoulder at Jayne's retreating back, and then glanced back at Kaylee. "What's all that about?" She asked a knowing smile on her face.

"Nothin'." Kaylee lied, because she knew exactly what it was about…she just couldn't believe it. It was a little tough to get hold of, really. Jayne was the last person…well, almost the last person she ever would have thought of. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or not, because she'd been sitting in his _lap_, laughing and teasing him…and he'd probably gotten the wrong idea. _Oops…_

* * *

Mal dropped into a seat opposite River in the lounge. He was never going to understand her, it seemed. She could go from being so child-like that you might be tempted to think she was helpless to disarming and breaking a man's arm in no time flat. And he'd discovered this afternoon that she shrugged on a Cockney accent and a sarcastic smile the way he would his coat…a seamless disguise. His theory about Badger had been correct.

He'd spent most of his time trying to get River to drink a cup of that awful stuff he'd given them the last time they'd been compelled to pay him a visit. In the end, they'd gotten three jobs. And all it had taken was bringing her along. She'd played him like a fiddle, and if the smile on her face was any indication, River had the time of her life. "Did you have fun?" He asked, taking a sip of the cup of tea he'd made for himself. She nodded, grinning. "I might have to think about taking you along with us more often."

She shook a finger at Mal, expression suddenly changing to that of a disapproving school marm, "No, no, Captain. You can't go taking advantage, now. Don't I get anything out of the deal?"

His mouth fell open for a second, and nothing came out. "I…um…what do you want?"

River wasted no time in her request. She planted her elbows on the table, leaning forward and whispering, "Candy."

It started as a low chuckle, kind of rumbling-like, and slowly built up until he threw back his head and laughed until he felt tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes. "Really…kiddo…" he tried to say as he began calming down, "…if that's all you want…but you sure you don't need anything else?"

Her head tilted slightly, dark eyes watching him and her face unreadable. "No," she said quietly, "just candy. If you want, you can share with me." There were times. Sometimes he wanted to toss the girl out of the airlock, sometimes he wanted to confine her to her quarters. But still other times, he just wanted to give her a bear hug. The entire crew had adopted her in one way or another.

Zoe let River take some of the kitchen duties, teaching her to cook with more patience than he thought she had. Kaylee had someone to goof off with, almost sister-like. Every now and again, River sparred with Jayne, but they only did that in the cargo bay when they were light on load, because of this one time when they'd crushed a few pieces of fragile shipping. She was a good pilot, almost as good as Wash, which endeared her to Mal in a way. So he guessed that she was like a little sister to them all, or a cousin. Or something. At the moment, though, he just wanted to give her a hug because she looked so innocent.


	4. Pretty Lights

**Title:**"Lights"

**Begun:** December 1, 2007

**Completed: **December 4, 2007

**Summary: **Relationships fall apart sometimes. Kaylee knew that. What she never counted on was who would be there to pick up the pieces.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, guys. This is the last chapter! I hope you like it. It's so cute, you just might get sugar shock.

* * *

**Chapter 4:** Pretty Lights 

Just as she had predicted…she couldn't sleep. Kaylee hated not being able to sleep at night. She got the urge to wander, and if she was going to do that, she needed to put on her boots. So, like every time when she couldn't sleep, she pulled on her boots and wrapped a blanket around herself, over her nightgown. Now…climbing up that stupid ladder to the hall was a little hard, and she only succeeded by tossing her blanket out first. The ship was cold, since it was winter on Persephone, and huddled in on her blanket.

That settled it. Her first stop was going to be the galley. A good hot cup of tea would do wonders right about now, since she thought her butt might just freeze off. Though she tried her hardest not to make too much noise, it was impossible to be silent on the grating floor. Her footsteps echoed eerily, and not a little creepily. Glad for the solid floor of the galley, she smiled, heading directly for the kitchen.

Immediately, she found that she was not alone. Jayne was leaning on the stove while a kettle warmed on the burner, and he didn't look happy. When he looked up at her, he recoiled, almost scared by her presence. She could see as much in his face. Nodding at the kettle, Kaylee asked, "Is there enough in there to make me some tea, too?" Jayne grunted, and she guessed that was supposed to be a 'yes', but she couldn't be sure when he made those monkey noises.

Shuffling into the kitchen and slipping past Jayne, Kaylee grabbed her favorite mug, one that Wash had given her for her birthday. It had a pink rabbit hopping across it, and some pretty yellow flowers. Holding it through the blanket so that she didn't touch the cold ceramic handle, she waited on the water to boil and looked through the tea bin for something to drink. Taking out a packet of Earl Grey for herself, she looked over her shoulder to see that Jayne hadn't gotten his yet. He usually drank oolong, which she thought might be why he was always so hyperactive…but she wasn't going to say anything about it.

Kaylee shoved the teabag packets into her mouth, and shuffled back around Jayne, still waiting. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, a strange expression on his face, and reached out to take the bags and her mug. Grumpy, he said, "Ya look like an idjit like that." In reply, she just snorted and gave a weak kick at his foot. He didn't say anything more, because the kettle chose that moment to whistle. Jayne nudged her out of the way, and made the tea himself. He was strangely careful about it, and Kaylee found herself smiling at the way his big hands worked, delicately squeezing the bags and stirring the tea daintily.

Jayne picked up her mug and handed it to her, and Kaylee stuck a hand out of the blanket to take the thing. The warmth soaked into her hand and she smiled. "Thank you," she said before he brushed past her and made for the dinner table. She was starting to wonder about what happened earlier. When he got all flustered and sort of ran away when Zoe showed up, it really got her to thinking. _What if…what if Jayne really is_—and it was so weird to even think it—_sweet on me?_

There was really only one way to find out, she thought, and no time was better than right now to make an ass of herself if she was wrong. No one else was up, and nobody would walk in and make her feel stupid. So…Kaylee followed Jayne to the dinner table, and sat down across from him, watching him clean Vera. There was a big towel set down to keep gun oil from getting on the table, and the parts of the big gun were spread out over the cloth. He moved methodically, automatically. She could tell that this was something he did often, so much that he could clean, oil, and polish probably any of his weapons without even thinking about it.

She took a sip of tea, trying to think of what she was going to say. It was hard to figure. How was she gonna ask him that? Kaylee set her mug down gently, taking a deep breath. What if he did have a thing for her? What was she gonna do about that? So soon after breaking things off with Simon, she wasn't sure it was such a hot idea to go and get herself mixed up with a man like Jayne, who was more muscle than brain, and had little else to offer. But then again, what happened if she was wrong, and he hadn't taken to her like she thought he did…she guessed that everything would be fine, but she wouldn't know until she asked.

When Kaylee opened her mouth to ask him about the things that had been bouncing around her head, Jayne had just locked the barrel into place. He set Vera down very carefully, as if she were already loaded, and fixed her with a pair of very…intense eyes. Her mouth shut all on its own, not knowing what he was going to say or do when looking at her the way he was.

* * *

Jayne still had his hands on Vera, fingers resting gently on the surface of the metal. It was comforting to have a weapon nearby, even if he knew he wouldn't need one. Having his very favorite gun right then was an even bigger comfort, because he needed it more than he ever had. He could feel words fighting to get out of his mouth, and when that happened, they usually got him in trouble. Once, he'd gotten shot, another time, stabbed. And when he let out what he was needing to say around womenfolk, it usually got him slapped. 

But he was pretty sure that Kaylee wasn't gonna slap him. She had a hot mug of tea—prepared by yours truly—close at hand to throw at him if need be. That would probably be worse than a slap. Because if he got burnt by steaming hot tea, and cut by mug shrapnel, he was gonna have to go and get sewed up by her boyfriend again. That was something he didn't really feel like doing. But…Jayne Cobb was never a man to err on the side of caution. He just sucked it up, and took his licks, stab wounds, and gunshots…as the case may be. So what made this so different? _Well, _this bothersome voice in the back of his head supplied, _it's Kaylee. She's different._

And yeah, Kaylee was different. She was probably the sweetest, most honest girl he knew. And she was pretty as hell when she looked at him like that. Jayne breathed in deep, and let it out in the words that he didn't think he'd ever have the guts to say. "Kaylee…I know…I know I'm ain't the best of men. Hell, I ain't even a really good man. The doc…he's a good guy, deep down. That's the kind of fella you deserve. He ain't the most manly, and he made you cry, but he ain't gonna do it no more. I made sure of that. 'Cause no man's gonna make you cry as long as I'm around." He looked down at his hands, which had drifted away from Vera, and now clutched his teacup.

"Do ya know what I'm tryin' to tell ya…Kaylee?" When she didn't say anything, he looked up at her, and saw something that looked like shock on her face. That was _not_ a good sign, and Jayne was suddenly sorry for having said anything at all. Gathering up his tea, Vera, and his towel, he stood and started walking out of the galley. "Ah, hell," he muttered, "I dunno why I even try."

The next thing he knew, there was a little hand on his arm, warm from holding a hot mug. "Jayne, stop." His throat was dry, and it got even dryer when he turned, finding Kaylee shivering in her nightgown. If he thought she looked pretty sleeping, he was wrong. She was more than pretty. Kaylee was…beautiful. When he was done turning around, she crossed her arms, still shaking from the cold, and looked a little annoyed. "You can't just go sayin' somethin' like that and leave, you know."

"Huh?" he asked, not really understanding.

Kaylee slapped his arm and said, "You didn't even give me a chance to tell you. I ain't with Simon no more. I know he ain't gonna make me cry, Jayne." Then something else passed over her face, and her eyes widened. "You didn't threaten him, did you?"

Shifting his weight, and feeling a tiny bit in the wrong, he said, "I might have…just a bitty bit."

Sighing, Kaylee cocked her head to one side. "I don't know what to do with you, Jayne. You go threatening people and sticking your nose into what don't concern you…which makes me wanna belt you one. But then there's _why_ you went and did it. That makes me…well, it don't make me wanna belt you. See my problem?"

Jayne shook his head, because he honestly didn't see.

"I can't be mad at you when you go and be all sweet like that. It ain't really right to do, but I appreciate the thought." And then she put her arms around him and squeezed, like she had before. He didn't really know how to react. Any man worth being a man would wanna squeeze right back. But he didn't know if he should. His tune changed when he felt a punch to the gut, and she mumbled, "It's too damned cold in here. If you don't hug me back, I'm goin' to bed."

Carefully, he set Vera down, and put his arms around her. "How come you couldn't sleep?" he asked, trying to fill up the silence that had suddenly started to get to him.

"'Cause I had a long nap in the engine room. What about you?"

Jayne thought for a second if he should tell her or not, but then he just let if fly. "I was thinkin' about when you woke up from your nap." Her face rubbed against his chest, and he went on, "You look pretty when you sleep. That's why I didn't wanna wake you up." Kaylee laughed, a little noise that reminded him of cartoon fairies.

"You have some strange ideas floating around your head, Jayne." Her smaller body pulled back from his, and he felt strange, like he was missing something that should be there. To his surprise, Kaylee just picked up her blanket and her cup, then grabbed his arm and started tugging him toward the lounge. He sat on the couch, and she curled up next to him, pulling the blanket over herself. "Anybody ever tell you that you're like a human furnace?"

Jayne chuckled, and put an arm around her to pull her closer. Kaylee snuggled into his side, and made more fairy noises while she drank her tea. It didn't take long before she fell asleep, and he felt her breathing slow down. Pulling the blanket up tighter around her shoulders, he set their cups aside and leaned down, gently kissing the top of her hair before leaning back against the couch and slouching into a more comfortable position.

* * *

Yawning, River padded into the galley. She felt happy when she entered, and then turned toward the lounge to discover why. Kaylee and Jayne were asleep on the couch, Yellow light glowing softly off of both of them. Now…that was nice to see in the morning. Footsteps behind her stopped and she heard the Captain say, "Well, if that don't beat all." 

River could feel him about to say something to wake them up, but she turned around very quickly, and gave him a threatening look. "Mal…no." He blinked a few times before giving a little whine. Bursting other peoples' bubbles was something he really liked to do. "Let them sleep. The light is pretty…"

Mal went into the kitchen, intent on making himself something to eat. River plopped down into one of the dining room chairs to watch. After only a few more minutes, the normal morning sounds of the ship seemed to wake them up, and River smiled at how Kaylee looked at Jayne, and how Jayne smiled at Kaylee.

"Pretty lights…"

* * *

End. 


End file.
